the intimate locust
by grigrigirl

Comment:
This is a very excellent, artsy-looking image, but those look like cicada EXOSKELETONS to me. How can you get intimate with a couple of hollow shells?

Ruddy Darter
by pinback

Comment:
Very similar to some images of my own, but not ones that I like. I don't think that dragonflies look very good with their wings in that position. Wait for it to take off and land in that spot again with its wings out and you'll get a much better image. This species has very striking thorax coloration, but it's covered up by the wings. It's got that "droopy" look.

bluefly.......
by undieyatch

Comment:
How is this intimate? It's dead, deceased, an ex-bluefly, no longer with us! That bird bath is pretty gross-looking; no wonder the fly died.

Landing Pod
by buzzrock

Comment:
The bee suffers from motion blur due to a shutter speed too slow to freeze motion. It would also be a more powerful bee image if the flower was mostly cropped out. I can tell that this image was over-sharpened to try to compensate for the blur.

I love my grass
by pitsaman

Comment:
Great photo of a grasshopper. I've found grasshoppers to be rather easy subjects and not very challenging.

No, Bubba, I said get ON my back! Viewer discretion is advised...
by kavamama

Comment:
Not too bad, although it was obviously taken in captivity and doesn't look natural at all. One other problem; there's no way I'm going to give a good rating to a spider when the challenge is titled "INSECTS". A spider is an arachnid, and anyone who tries to pass one off as an insect deserves to lose points.

I Am Butterfly Hear Me Roar
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
Looks like it was taken hand held with slightly too low of a shutter speed and then sharpened to try and make up for it.

DeadBUG
by tfarrell23

Comment:
How is this getting intimate? It's dead, deceased, history, it's an ex-bug, it's no longer with us.

The Invader
by RiderGal

Comment:
Depth of field is too shallow. Eyes aren't entirely sharp and in-focus.

Gotcha, you bastard!!
by sjonni

Comment:
How can we get intimate with a dead wasp?